I Honestly Love You
by danextAmericanIdol
Summary: Everything is going strong between two lovers but when a girl from the boy's past comes back to his life, he wrestles over who he really loves. Meanwhile a girl is excited about her cousin coming over only to bring back surprising news. PLEASE r
1. A Visit Unannounced

He's been working on Mr. Simpson's car for almost half the day and Ellie was over the whole time and it was putting her half to sleep.  
"Sean, how long have you been working on this?" Ellie asked, noticing Sean's face and arms covered in oil.  
"It doesn't matter. I have to this. I stole Simpson's computer and this is my punishment. I deserve it."  
"You deserve a break. Come on. You've been working on the car all day. I don't think Simpson wants you to kill yourself. Come on. Let's go to the Dot."  
Sean sighs and realizes Ellie's right.  
"All right. I'll be right back. I gotta get cleaned up." Sean shows Ellie his oil-covered arms. Ellie works for Sean outside and sees his front gate open. She recognized the figure walking toward her but couldn't make out who it was. As she got closer, Ellie realized that the figure was...  
"Snake told me to check on the car. School's starting next week and he'll need it."  
"It's going fine," Ellie isn't so thrilled to see Emma because she knows she's the reason Sean started hanging out with Jay.  
"So where's Sean if he's doing 'fine' on the car?"  
"He's getting cleaned up. We're going to the Dot."  
"Shouldn't he be working on my dad's car instead of going out?"  
"Emma he's been working on it all day! I think he's had enough for now."  
"Enough? You can't get punished enough when you steal something from someone who's done so much for you!!" Emma was yelling by now. Ellie wasn't different. She too was getting a temper that was heating up.  
"He barely stops to get a drink, Emma!! You don't think he knows he deserves his punishment? He practically kills himself over what he's done!!" Ellie's words hit Emma hard but she doesn't want to admit she's wrong so she just walks away. Ellie's like "whatever" and turns around and sees that Sean is ready to go.  
"Hey. What's going on? I heard yelling."  
"Emma came over to check on the car."  
"Oh. Then why would you two be yelling?"  
"Never mind. Come on let's go."  
"Sean was confused but he didn't want to argue so he just kept walking. 


	2. Meet Erin

A/N: There's a new character named Erin and I own her. Ya'll better not steal!!  
  
After Emma left Sean's she decided to got with Manny when she picks up her cousin, Erin from British Columbia. "I really can't wait until Erin gets here. She's like my favorite cousin! I can learn a lot from her. She's Head Cheerleader, president of the drama club, debate team, yearbook editor, varsity basketball player..." "Okay, Manny! You've been bragging about your cousin since we got here!!" Emma was scolding but in a sarcastic way. "All right. I'll stop. But she does all that and still manages to have her gpa as high as a 5.0. I just hope Paige will praise her cheerleading skills as much as she praises mine." "Wow, Manny. You cousin does so much and still gets things accomplished. You don't even get jealous." "Why would I? Besides you, she's my best friend," Manny wasn't telling the whole truth, "Okay, maybe I do get jealous sometimes. She does gets asked out by ten different guys in the same week, but I don't let it get to me. I mean I have JT." "Yeah you do. By the way, how do you know all this?" "I talk to her online a lot and she send her buddy list to her friends and I got to talk to her old boyfriends and other people who ask her out. Hey why don't you spend the night tonight? The three of us can 'bond.' "Sure. We can do that" Mrs. Santos was who was checking the listings for arrival said that Erin's bus will be here in 10 minutes. Manny and Emma go with her to wait for Erin. After 20 minutes, Manny and Emma got bored. "Come on Emma. Let's go to the snack bar." When they turn they hear a voice behind them that says, "I can't believe you would rather go to a snack bar than wait for your own cousin!!" When Manny and Emma turn back, they see a girl in a black one strap shirt and a pink mini skirt with ruffles. Manny screams, "Erin!!!" "Manny!!" Erin gives Manny a hug, "So what's going on? I tell you so much about me but you never tell me anything about you!! Not to mention telling me about your friend." She looks at Emma, "Aren't you gonna introduce us? Manny completely forgot about Emma, "Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. Erin, this is the best friend anyone could have," Emma laughs. "And Emma, this is the best cousin in the world, Erin." "Nice to meet you," Emma says. "Right back at ya," Erin says. Mrs. Santos went over to the three, "Girls, I hate to interrupt, but we have to take Erin home." They all nodded. On the car ride home, Mrs. Santos offered to take Erin's bags ing the the house while Manny and Emma give them a Degrassi tour.  
"So Manny, what are the cool hang-outs here?" Erin asks.  
"Well there's the Dot Grill," Manny replies.  
"Yeah," Emma says, "We should have dinner there."  
"Sounds great," agrees Erin. 


	3. Perfect

"So what can I get you two lovebirds to drink?" Spinner asked Sean and Ellie.  
"I'll have a raspberry iced tea," Ellie said.  
"Make that two," Sean said.  
"Two root beets coming right up," Spinner took the orders and left. Sean who is dazzled by his girlfriend's beauty watches her as she reads the menu. Ellie takes notice of this.  
"What? Do I have something on my face?"  
No. It's perfect. ... You're perfect."  
Spinner heard what Sean said and gave him them their drinks, "Why thank you, Sean. I think you're perfect, too." Ellie rolls her eyes and Sean says, "Shut up, Spinner."  
"Dude, whatever. So here's your iced tea. So what do you want?"  
"I'll have a smoked bacon cheeseburger with onion rings instead of fires," Sean requested.  
"I'll have chicken fingers and fries," Ellie said."  
"Okay. Gotcha," Spinner left after writing the orders down.  
"Well once again summer's over and out happy place is gone," Ellie said.  
"Yeah I know. I'm still trying to get over the fact that I'm in the grade I'm supposed to be in especially now that I'm dating you." Sean takes Ellie's hand and they look into each other's eyes and they just smile.  
Emma, Erin, and Manny walk in. Emma's eyes met Sean's for a spilt second but then went back to what they were doing. Spinner took their orders and each wanted a root beer float and mozzarella sticks for an appetizer.  
"So Erin what grade are you going to be in when school starts?" Emma asked.  
"I'll be in grade 11."  
"Awww. Manny and I will only be in grade 10." They laugh.  
"Are you planning on doing any activities this year?" Manny asked as she was eating the ice cream from her root beer float.  
"Well I'm going to have to check it out first," Emma laughs and says, "Manny talks non stop about your perfect life. About how you do so much and still get a 5.0 gpa."  
"Hold on. I don't know what my crazy cousin's told you but I'm not perfect. I try not to get stressed out about the things I do. So what if I get a 5.0 gpa even after editing the yearbook, learning my lines for the school play or making up a cheer for the next pep rally?" So what if I had the perfect boyfriend? Key word: HAD. Believe me, the distance between the Earth and Pluto is shorter than a worm compared to the distance between my life and perfect. But enough about me. What about you two? " Manny and Emma look at each other not knowing what to say but Emma speaks up, "Well, Manny and I are going to be in grade 10 next week. The number one teacher to avoid is Mrs. Kwan."  
So what teacher do I not have to worry about?" "Her dad, Mr. Simpson," Manny says, "You don't have to worry about him at all. If he catches you playing in Saturday detention with Mr. Radditch, he'll pretend he didn't see it."  
"Come on, Manny, he knows where to draw the line," Emma says. The three laugh ask Spinner for the check, and they leave.  
The rest of the night is being spent playing truth or dare.  
"Truth," Emma says. Manny and Erin think of a really good question.  
"Okay. I got one, "Erin said. "What is the name of your first true love?"  
Emma has a hard time answering this and even if she knows it's not true she says, "Chris Sharpe. He's my current boyfriend."  
Manny knows she's lying, "Emma take a dare if you're not gonna tell the truth."  
Emma doesn't want the risk of doing something stupid. She takes a deep breath and admits, "Sean Cameron."  
Erin replies, "Why was that so hard to say? Did he do something? I want the whole story."  
Yeah. He did. We had a relationship and back then you could say opposites attract. I was a good girl and he was a bad boy. We loved each other more than life itself, but he started hanging out with thugs because he felt neglected by me. My step dad had cancer so I had watch my brother all the time. We had a fight and I tried to reconcile but he took my heart, crushed it, and ran over it with his motorcycle."  
"Ewww. That last part was descriptive," Erin said. "But I know how that feels. I had the same kind of relationship with my old boyfriend. I was so busy with my school work he didn't think I had enough time for him. He too was the bad boy in our relationship. I don't think I ever stopped loving him but it was too late when I tried to tell him." She was on the verge of tears.  
Manny was getting into the story, "What happened?"  
"He got into a fight with a guy he hung out with after we broke up. He got shot in the head. His brother witnessed it. Then I came to the hospital as fast as I could. His new girlfriend was there too. I wanted to tell him I love him even if he couldn't hear because he was in a coma. I didn't want to tell him in front of his girlfriend so I waited for her to leave. But it was too late. He was already gone," Erin was crying by now. "I just felt like I gave up on him and now I have to spend the rest of my life wondering what it would be like if I held on to him."  
Manny was comforting her, "It's okay sweetie. You're 16. You'll love again. But that doesn't help, does it?"  
"No. It's okay Manny. Now you both know one of the reasons why my life isn't perfect. Anyway, his brother, my best friend dealt by stealing and getting drunk at parties. I still have to get over seeing my best friend do such a thing. He moved but he never told me where he was going."  
Manny says, "I know Emma knows how that feels."  
Emma knows what she's talking about, "Manny slept with my friend's boyfriend who is also my friend. She knew about it too. Would you want your best friend to do something like that?"  
Erin was paying attention, "You slept with someone else's boyfriend??"  
"Yeah. It was a long time ago. It's all good now. I have someone else who likes me."  
"I'll kill you if you EVER do that again." The three laugh and looks at the time realizing they should go to bed. 


	4. First Day of School

Sean and Ellie are walking to school together hand in hand.

"So do you think Simpson's gonna treat me differently after what I did?" Sean asked Ellie.

"Nah. He likes all his students. He wouldn't let your grades drop just coz he hates you...if he did." Ellie and Sean kiss for a few seconds and smiling, she says, "Good luck."

Sean and Ellie go inside and look to see what their homerooms are.

"Cameron, Cameron. Here. I got Simpson."

"I got Armstrong. I'll see you at lunch?

"Of course," They kiss and they go to homeroom.

"Mr. Armstrong is taking roll, "Erin Santos."

"Here," she walks up to get the lock for her locker and Paige gossips about this new girl.

"Santos? Do you think she's related to Manny?"

Spinner looks at her and recognized her, "I think so. I think she was that same girl with Manny and Emma last week."

"If they're related, do you think they're alike? Do you think she sleep with other peoples' boyfriends like Manny does?"

"Probably not. Manny wasn't always the slut she was last year," Hazel said, "Remember she used to be really 'cute and adorable'"

Spinner notices what she was wearing, "Well Erin doesn't seem dress 'cute and adorable'"

"But not like so much like a slut," said Paige. Erin was wearing tight jeans and a pink tube top that looks a long skirt/short dress on the hanger (if you watch "Real Access," its kind of like the one they said Beyoncè would wear).

The bell rang and people are off to their next class. Paige and Hazel decide to find out ho nice Erin was.

"Hi. Erin right?"

"Yeah. Pam and Helen?"

"Actually it's Paige and Hazel. So I recognized you last name. Santos. Are you related to Manny Santos?"

"Yeah. She's my cousin."

"Oh. Well I'd watch out if I were you. I wouldn't let her come near my boyfriend."

"Oh yeah. She told me about that. I'll take your advice but she's my cousin. We're still good friends."

"I understand. You can't ditch your cousin since she's family. All I'm saying is watch out."

"Okay. Do you know where the Media Immersion lab is?" Erin asked.

"Follow me," Paige starts walking next to Hazel.

Hazel turns to Paige and says, "She seems nice." Paige nods.

"Welcome back class. To start the school year, I decided to assign you all a partner so you can act out a scene from 'Romeo and Juliet.' It will be graded and I know you just camehe hands out back from summer vacation, but I promise it's going to be a fun activity. It's only going to be worth 10% of your grade, but I still suggest doing a good job." She hands out color-coded index cards: blue for "Romeo" and "Juliet" cards are red, "Okay. Can I see who has the number one? They will be doing the final scene when they each die."

Emma raises her hand and also sees that Sean had, too.


	5. Don't Worry

"Class, now that you have your partners, why don't you all get together and discuss how you plan on delivering, rehearsing you lines and whatever it will take for you to get a good grade," said Mrs. Kwan once she finished pairing up partners. Emma didn't know what to think about Sean as her partner. A tiny part of her wanted to use this project as an opportunity to reconnect with Sean, but she didn't see that part of her yet. Sean was indifferent about the project. He wasn't thrilled about the assignment but he thought he might as well work on his project with his partner since there's nothing better to do.

Okay. Sean what do you think we should plan first before we rehearse?" Emma asked.

"I don't know. Do whatever you want," said Sean.

"It's our grade so your going to have to do your part in it. So really, what do you think?"

"I think we should plan it."

"Fine. So I think we should modernize the scene. You know the clothes, knives instead of swords, you know?"

"Yeah sure," Sean might as well come out with suggestions, too. "Ask if we should be allowed to change the dialogue a little so we'd modernize it even more. And wear a funeral dress when you die."

"Sure. That's a good idea," She walks up to Mrs. Kwan and asks her and she says it was okay.

"Okay. We can do it. ..." Just when they were going to make the changes, the bell rang. "Do you wanna work on this at lunch?"

"I can't. I promised Ellie I'd see her at lunch today. We'll just work on it tomorrow."

"Sure. So how are things going between you two?" Emma asked and without realizing it, the two were walking together.

"You know. Everything's going strong. Why?"

"Just wondering." Why _was_ she asking? Did it really matter? She and Sean were over aren't they? Yeah they are. What was she thinking?

"I guess I'll see you after lunch."

Sean was beginning to think Emma was flirting with him...Nah. "Yeah I guess." Emma walks over to Manny and Erin and Sean goes to the cafeteria.

"What was that about?" Manny was watching them.

"What was what about? Sean and I were talking about our project."

"Yeah. We just started and already its going strong? I don't think so."

"Yes it is. I have a boyfriend remember?"

"Yeah. Whatever."

Erin wanted to get in the conversation, "Hold on. I'm lost. Who's Sean?"

"He's her old boyfriend. The one she told you about."

"Oh. You first true love."

Sean saw Ellie in the cafeteria.

"Hey," he kisses her on the cheek and sits down next to her.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Well, I have to do the final scene of Romeo and Juliet. I got paired up with Emma."

"Really?" Ellie wasn't so comfortable with Sean kiddin Emma. "That's one of the kissing scenes right?"

"Yeah, but it's not like it's going to mean anything," Sean said wondering what she's so worried about.

"I know, but she's you old girlfriend."

"Don't worry. I only have feelings for you." He kisses her and she kisses back.

Ellie smiles and says, "Who's worrying?" They start kissing again and forget about their lunch.


	6. Hanging Out

After school, Erin was heading home to plan out her after school activities and extra classes.

"Erin!" a voice called. She turned around to see that it was Paige. She was with Hazel and Ellie. "We're going to the Dot. Wanna come?"

After school activities can wait. Making friends was a lot more important right now, "Sure," said Erin.

"So how do you like it here in Degrassi?" Paige asked when they were at the Dot.

"I like it. It's not like Montreal at all. At least there's a lot of space here. There's too much shopping places in Montreal that there isn't enough room for a simple single family house.

"At least you can go to five different malls a day," Hazel said.

"It gets boring," said Erin.

"How can you outgrow shopping?" Paige was really surprised, "I think she's lying." They laugh except for Ellie.

"It's easy to outgrow shopping," she said, "When Ash took me shopping in Montreal I got so bored after six long hours."

"Come on Ellie. Shopping is heaven," Hazel said. Ellie rolls her eyes in a "yeah right" kind of way.

Hazel and Paige are sitting next to each other on one side of a booth next facing the door. Erin and Ellie sit on the other side. Hazel and Paige saw Jay, Alex, and Towerz walk in, but Erin and Ellie didn't notice.

"That guy Jay is like a total kleptomaniac. He stole from the school. He steals from everything. He got banned from here once," Paige said, "Apparently he's not anymore."

"My boyfriend, Sean used to hang out with him, until he called the cops when a party got out hand. Some girl got drunk. He called the party off and he stopped hanging with him," Ellie said.

Erin looks in his direction and went completely wide-eyed.

"What was that?" Paige asked.

"What was what?" asked Erin.

"Your eyes got really big."

"Oh my god. Do you think he's hot?" Hazel said.

Erin was getting uncomfortable with Jay in the same building as her, "No. Of course not. You know what? I have to go. Manny's mom goes crazy if anyone in her household is ever out too late. Especially on a school day." Paige, Hazel, and Ellie give each other confused looks. She takes a glance at Jay and walks out and he follows her out.

"Erin!!!

"What do you want Jay?" a tearful Erin turns around and looks into the eyes of a guy she once knew.


	7. Kisses and Disses

Jay didn't know what he wanted so he asked her, "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? I should ask you the same thing?" Erin wonders why Jay would ask her that. "Jay, why did you do it? Why did you leave without telling me where you were going?"

"I didn't want to talk to you after Drew died."

"Why not? Didn't you think I'd understand?"

"No I didn't," he was getting ready to yell. "How could you understand? He was my brother not my old boyfriend of three months. You wouldn't what it's like to lose someone you love."

That statement made Erin feel like she had just been punched in the stomach. It caused her to slap Jay hard across the face, "Don't you dare say I don't know what it's like!! I was heartbroken when Drew dumped me for losers who steal whatever they want. We both lost someone we love. I know it hurts. It hurts more to lose two people you love. It kills when you best friend moves away without telling you where he's going. But when he comes back and says you wouldn't know the feeling of grief over a loved one, you're living in hell. It's worse than death Jay. How could you?"

"I'm sorry. That was a selfish thing to say."

"I'm not just talking about what you just said. How could you deal with your brother's death by being like the losers he hung out with?"

She was still in tears as she was leaving, but Jay grabbed her wrists gave a good grip (not an abusive way but tight enough so she can't pull away), "Don't you ever talk about how I dealt with Drew's death because it wasn't a way of 'dealing' it was who I became when he died. And I'm that same guy now, but I'm over his death."

Erin wanted to tell him that he's not that guy and that it was his way of dealing, but she couldn't argue with him. Instead, she said firmly, "Let go of me." He let go of her and she went home. Neither of them realized it, but Amy, Towerz, Paige, Hazel, and Ellie were all watching them from the window.

The next day, Sean and Emma worked on Romeo and Juliet together in English class.

"You should use a bottle instead of a goblet" said Emma. "What do you think?"

"Sure. And dress like you were in the 21st century," said Sean. "Yeah. Let's work on the dialogue. You can say something like, 'How could my Juliet be dead?' then he drinks it," said Emma. For the rest of class, Sean and Emma changed the dialogue.

When the bell rang, Mrs. Kwan said, "I suggest you all work together at home. It's due next week. We'll be performing for other classes."

"Sean, do you wanna work on this at lunch today?" asked Emma.

"Well I'll be at lunch with Ellie again. Maybe after school," said Sean.

"Okay," Emma went over to Manny who still thinks she still likes Sean.

Sean sits with Ellie, Marco Dylan, and Ashley, "Hey," he kisses Ellie. "Wassup?" he tells Dylan, Marco, and Ashley. They all smile.

"Sean, do you want to get together after school?" Ellie asked.

"Oh. I can't. I told Emma I'd rehearse with her."

"Oh. Okay," Ellie still wasn't so comfortable with Sean and Emma together, but she didn't say anything.

"Did you hear about Jay and the new girl? Manny's cousin?" said Ashley.

"Yeah. I saw them," said Ellie.

"What did you her? Did they get into a fight?" said Marco.

"Close," Ellie said. "She slapped him."

"So why's that good gossip?" Dylan asked.

"Well he must have said something to make her want to slap him," Sean said. "Knowing Jay, of course he did something." They all turn to look at Paige, Hazel, and Erin together.

Like Ellie, Paige wants to know what happened at the Dot, "I saw you out there with Jay. What happened?" Paige asked.

Erin realized they were in front of the window, "Nothing."

"You slapped Jay. That's not 'nothing.' And he grabbed you. What did he do?"

"You don't need to know," Erin said not looking Paige in the eye.

"Yes I do! Erin, you're my friend and if you slap someone he obviously did something."

"Jay didn't do anything to me! I don't even know him," lied Erin. "You know what? I have to go. I'll see you later." She walks out. Paige wasn't convinced at all.

"Hazel, what do you think is wrong?"

"I don't know but Manny might," they look at her and Emma. Paige goes over to them.

"Santos, we need to talk. It's about your cousin."

"What about her?"

"It's Jay. We saw her slap him and tried to leave but he grabbed her."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Do you think Jay's hurting her?"

"I don't know but she doesn't even know him."

"I'll go talk to her," Manny said. She walks out of the cafeteria and sees Erin by her locker. "Erin, what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about," Erin said. Manny was hurt because her own cousin wouldn't talk to her about her problems and Erin noticed, "Look. I'm not ready to talk about this, but when I am, I will. I promise." They hug and Jay walks by with Alex. Their eyes meet for a spilt second.

At the end of the day, Emma and Sean walk home together.

"So should we rehearse at my house?" Emma asks.

"It doesn't matter."

"Okay," When they get there, they rehearse right away and Emma's lying on her couch.

"Oh my god! How can my Juliet be dead?" Sean said as the modernized Romeo, "I have to be with you. I love you." He drinks the "poison" from his bottle and "dies." Emma wakes up and sees "Romeo" dead.

"Rome? Rome? You drank poison! Why didn't you leave some for me?" She kisses him and finds herself kissing Sean and not Romeo. When she's done, she takes a fake knife and stabs herself. They both get up, and go outside for a walk.

"That was really good Sean. I didn't know how great of an actor you are," said Emma.

"Thanks," Sean could tell that Emma was waiting for him to compliment her back, "What? You sucked."

Emma got playful and was about to hit Sean but he ran and she chased. They were both laughing and Emma pushed him to the ground. She fell on top of him and they were both laughing. But Emma looked into Sean's eyes and kissed him. Sean was lost in this kiss, but remembered who he was kissing.

"Emma, I can't do this. I have girlfriend," he gets her off top of him. "I'm sorry. I have to go."


	8. Guilty

Chris saw the whole thing between Sean and Emma.

"Chris, it's not what it looks like," Emma said when she saw Chris.

"Really? I'd love to hear the explanation," Chris said.

Emma didn't know what to say. Maybe it was what it looked like, "Chris I'm so sorry."

"Save it." He walks away and she walks home crying.

"Emma! Manny and Erin are here!" Spike calls to Emma who's in her room. Manny and Erin go to her room and find her crying her eyes out.

"Emma? What's wrong?" Manny asked.

"Chris broke up with me," she replied.

"Awww, come on, there's other fish in the sea," Erin said.

"It's not that," Emma sniffs, "He broke up with me because he saw me kissing Sean. I don't know how Sean feels about Ellie."

"So what does that have to do with Chris?" said Manny.

"Nothing. I'm still in love with Sean."

"Emma, just make sure how Sean and Ellie feel about each other. If he's unsure about his feelings for her, help him out and tell him you're the one, but if he's positive he likes Ellie, move on," Erin said.

"Emma smiles and says, "Thanks"

Manny looks at Emma, "So what are you still doing here? Go get your man!"

Meanwhile, Sean felt really guilty about what just happened. He wanted to know what it would have been like if all this happened before Ellie came into Sean's life. He really wished it did because he how feels for Ellie couldn't compare to how he felt for Emma when they were together. Just when he was about to call Emma to talk about what happened, Ellie walked in.

"Hey," said Ellie. She kissed him in slightly aggressive way, but Sean couldn't kiss back without telling Ellie about Emma. He pushed her away and she doesn't know why, "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk."

"I don't like the sound of that," Sean took a deep breath; "I kissed Emma Nelson."

Ellie didn't believe it. She _couldn't_ believe it, "Don't you mean Juliet?"

"No. I mean Emma. Actually she kissed me."

Ellie lost her breath from disbelief, "I gotta go." She started to walk out.

"Ellie!" He went after her. It didn't mean anything!"

"How can kissing your ex-girlfriend not mean anything?" Ellie said as she kept walking, "You two obviously have some unfinished business."

"We don't. Believe me."

Ellie stopped walking and turned around, "Why should I?"

"Ellie," Sean moves closer to her, "I love you." Ellie just stares at him then she rests her forehead against his and kisses.

"Sean, I love you too," Ellie said. They kiss again and they get lost in their own world. They didn't even know that Emma walked by and watched them.


End file.
